Unit for adapting firearms to air gun operation



Aug. 5, 1952 2,605,756

UNIT FOR ADAPTING FIREARMS TO AIR gun OPERATION Filed Nov. 28, 1949 J. .BERTSCHINGER 4 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 v [Il i A INVENTOR.

v." I e. .m h c s I r e B s e u m Y B ATTORNEY g- 1 J. .BERLI'SCHVINGER UNIT FOR ADAPTING'FIREARMS TO AIR GUN OPERATION Filed Mini. 28. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvsw'roa. Jacques Bertschinger.

ATTOR N EY g- 1952 J. BERTSCHINGER UNIT FOR ADAPTING FIREARMS TO AIR GUN OPERATION Filed Nov. 28. 1949 3 She ets-Sheet 3 mvsmon. Jqcques Bertschinger.

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Patented Aug. 5, 1952 i l I -UNIT FOR ADAPTING FIREARMS roam GUN OPERATION Jacques Bertschinger, Wohlen, Switzerland Application November 28, 1949, Serial No. 129,732 In Switzerland December 1, 1948 My invention relates to apparatusfor converting a firearm into an airgun, particularly to adapter apparatus that may be mounted in the breech'of a rifie (suchias a Swiss carbine, model 193l)',to permit practicing'with air-driven bullets. r i

To make practicing with a thus converted firearm actually useful ior preserving ones marksmanship-in cartridge firing, the following requirements mustbe-met:

-1. The aiming accuracy of the airgun at short distances and small targets must be equivalent to that of the firearm employed for greater distances and correspondingly larger targets.

2. The total weight of-the'airgun and its weight distribution 'must-be'similar to those of the firearm i I '3, The pressure to be exerted bythe trigger finger must'be the same tor the firearm and the air n,and"- Besides, the conversion f the firearm into an airgun and vice versa must be easily 'efiected and to keep the firearm always readyfor action,

it is 'also essentialto prevent the weapon frombeing damaged due to its conversion or use as an airgun. Consequently, the following further requirements should also be satisfied:

4. It must be possible toconvert the firearm into an airgun without removal of any parts with which only an expert is conversant.

5. The trigger mechanism, when the weapon is being used as an airgun, must not be subjected to pressure in excess of that employed when the weapon is used as a firearm-,-thus obviating abnormal wear. i I

- 6. The movable parts of the adapter must be insertable only where space for their movement is available, and the bore and cartridge magazine must be protected from being contacted by these mov'able'parts. i i 7 It is an object of my inventionto provide an adapter device that satisfies the foregoing-requirements and is also relatively inexpensiveto Another objectoi the inve'ntion isto make such an adapter device, orgenerally an airgun, less subject to detrimentalefiects or inadvertent release due to shocks acting on the weapons 7 Still another object of the invention is to permit cocking an airgun, especially 1 an 'airgun adapterunit-inserted into-the breech of a rifle, without requiring the 'veryiconsiderable change of position in which theknown airguns, in 0011-. trast' to firearms, must beheld after firing before another shot can be fired 8Claims. (01.12445) ,The foregoing and more specific objects and. advantages of the invention as well as the means for achieving them, these means being set forth with particularity in-the claims annexed hereto, will be apparent from the following in conjunction with drawings which illustrate, byway of example, an adapter device according to the invention, mounted on a firearm to be controlled by the trigger of the firearm. The constituent parts of the adapter are shown in full lines whereas the parts of the fire arm proper are shown in broken lines. In the drawings: I

Fig. 1 illustrates a vertical longitudinal section of the weapon cocked for firing;

Fig. 2 illustrates in plan view the spring-loading elements in cocked condition;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the same spring-loading elements also in cocked condition; g v

Fig. 4 is a horizontal longitudinal section and .plan view of the spring-loading elements in released condition; V

Fig. 5 illustrates aflsection on'the line V-Vof Fig.4;

Fig. 6 illustrates, on alargerv scale, a vertical longitudinal section of the latching device;

' Fig. 7 illustrates the loading end oi'the weapon;

Fig. .8 is a plan view of the latching device with pertaining latch loops;

Fig. 9 shows the latching device viewed from above, without. the latch loops;.

Fig. 10 is a cross-section on the line'X-X of Fig. 6 of the latching device; and

Fig. 11 illustrates a cross-section; on the line XIXI of Fig.- 6,,0f the latching device with-the latchloops. I

. The main parts of capital letters while the subsidiary parts are indicated'by capital letters .to which small letters are added.' 5 I The main parts of the inserted=airgun adapter are indicated by numerals and the pertaining subsidiary parts are indicated by numerals to which small letters-are added,

As illustrated, the adapter unit is inserted into the breechA of Ta rifieinstead of the previously withdrawn breech; bolt; The-unit is-latched in position by a catch 20a which is formed on a spring 20 and snaps overashoulder Ad on the breechA (Figs. 1,3). 11

The converted weapon iscocked by swi nging a cocking lever .23 rearwardly as far as it willgo (Fig; Zrandthen returning it tothe initial positionffi i A)... m

,Toload theweapon, a;loadingiknob l5' (Fig. 1-)"is; unscrewed. :Afterinserting a bullet, the

the firearm are indicated byv (Figs. 1 to 4).

barrel 3 is rendered air-tight by screwing knob l firmly against a packing disc [5a. A pin l5b of knob l5 then forces the bullet forwardly in front of air vents 3a. Thereafter the weapon is ready for firing.

More in detail, the adapter unit is designed as follows: The stationary structure of the unit has a pivot bracket la for the cocking lever 23 and is provided with a'housing It for accommodating a portion of a spring-latching device to be released by the trigger slider C of the rifle Disposed within the cylindg-ir tube 1 and firmly joined therewith is a closure, cup 2 with a damping disc 2a (Figs. 1,, ,12) which forms together with the tube 1' an air pressure chamber le. ie is closed by a piston disc 6 with a sealing disc 1. Piston disc 6 is axially displaceable in cylinder tube l and firmly joined with a barrel 3 that extends axially through the cylinder tube I into a guiding tube 4 in which the barrel 3 is axially displaceable Tube 4 is firmly secured to the front end of the cylinder tube 1 to form an extension thereof. The front portion of guiding tube 4 is inserted into the barrel of the rifle. The air barrel 3 has lateral apertures 3a (Figs. '1, 6, 8, 9) through which it communicates with the cylinder chamber l e to sup-' ply the barrel 3 with compressed 'air when the unit is triggered. Firmly joined: with the axially displaceable air barrel 3 is'a latch sleeve 5 and a'carrie-r 8. The piston spring 14 of the unit is disposed.between'the stationary closure cup 2 and the movable latching sleeve 5. When assembling the adapterlunit, the air barrel is inserted from the rear'throughi the cylinder closure cup 2 and screwed .into the. latching sleeve 5, after the'fpiston. spring IA is placed in position. I.

The cockingdevicefor compressing -the piston spring l4 comprises three main elements, namely the above-mentioned cocking lever 23, a cocking slider 2!, and an intermediate connecting link 22. The cocking lever 23 has a channelshaped portion pivoted to lug 10. by apivotpin 25. Lug la is'firmly secured to the air cylinder I or an integral part thereof. Link 22 enters between the limbs of the channel portion of lever 23 and is pivoted thereto by a pin 25 to transmit the oscillating movement of cooking lever 23 through a pivot pin 24 to the slider 21 movable longitudinally in a guide Ab of the breech A (Figs. 2 to 5). :Thecocking elements are normally held in the initial position illustrated in Fig. 4 by the action of a spring Ba (Fig. 3) on a lock holder B and by the engagement of a lock holder tongue 13b (Fig. 5) with a recess 22a of link 22. A stop for limiting the cocking movement of the cooking lever *23 is provided by a recess 2lb in slider I2l (Figs. 2, 4). Recess Zlb is engageable with tongue Bb (Figs. 3, 4) on the lock'holder B. V a

The latching sleeve 5 has an annular shoulder 50. (Figs. 1, 2, 4) in slidable engagement with the air cylinder l. During the-cocking movement, sleeve 5 is carried along by a nose am of slider 21 (Figs. 2, 4). Nose 2|a projects through a: slot la in the. air cylinder I. Nose Zla' also engages a groove 5b (Fig. 2) i'nsleevei to prevent the sleevefrom turning.

A release pawl 16 is slidably mounted in the above-mentioned housing lb ofthe stationary structure of the unit (Figs. 1, 6, and -is guided by that housing for movement toward the vertically movabletrigger slider C of the The re end d am er rifle, the latter being moved downwardly when the trigger proper is actuated. A spring l9, connected between a pin ll of pawl and a stationary pin I8 of housing lb, tends to hold the pawl in the position shown in Fig. 6. In that position, the rear end of pawl l6 projects over the edge of the rear aperture Id of the cylinder'tubeglnf V r The latching device for thecocked piston spring comprises the above-mentioned carrier 8 which is screwed together with the barrel 3 behind the piston disc 6 (Figs. 1, 6, 7, 8, 9). A

spring 10 (Figs. 1, 6).

latching sleeve 9 is longitudinally movable on the carrier 8 and is under the pressure of a latch When the weapon is in released'condition the latching sleeve 9 bears groove 8a on both sides (Fig. 9) in which are fitted two latch loops I3 (Fig. 11). When the unit is cocked, the air piston is latched by the loops 13 which then abut against a bevelled stop face a of a catch ring ll (Figs, 6, 8, 9),. The ring H is held in position by a closure can 12 screwed .onto the 'rearyend of the cylinder tube l. The outer diameter of-slceve 9 is approximately equal to the inner diameter of catch ring ll so that the latchloops' I 3 cannot slide off'the bevelledstop facev I la otthe ring. The sleeve 9. is prevented from being moved; forwardly by the pressure of spring it because the rear end of. pawl 16 then abutsaga nst an annu shoulder '9a of, the sleeve; This latching engagementcomes about :dulig: cocking of the.

, unit as follows. As mentio ed, the unit is x cocked by. moving the cooking lever 1 rea ar to a stop and then; retumihsiit or e dte it original position. During the first stroke, the cooking slider 2 l. pulled to the rear and its nose lla entrains thesleeve 5 so that the piston spring I4 is compressed. Together with sleeve 5, the barrel. 3 withallits parts (6 to 19;, 13,15) s therea1-- Du in th s m em n t latch sleevefi, ,iased by springill, at first abuts a ainst IhQJD StQ L d sc it en: t ould r 9c ofsleeve apassesc er thelet h i s e d o sliding over the rear edge bf the cylinder aperture pawl Hi. the. pawlfirs y e ds downwar y n then catches in heme-the shoulder 1. Now the cock n ever-hes reachedhe tep and its return mo ent eei s.-- The e ments. of he,

cooking device now r eturnto the orig a p tion, and herr s ure c hep ten s in ls auses the ba rel twit it a ch Pa s ((51 to 8.13. 5) tc t rn t h c m l position- However, the-slidable pawl [6 then bears against the trigger slider C and arrests the latchsleeve 9 w c therefc e. d s netx c pet in th et r movemen onsequentl h p in I we n the re e velymov ng pe a 9 is str ss d, an he .two tongue -9 sl ev (Figs. 6, 8, 9, 10) enter into the latch loops i3 a prea themc wardl by. he h d in action. .of bevel afac sfl 'at he rear end -ct e p ctive ton ues.- fllhere t t e atch loops [3 abut against the rear bevel faced-la 0.1. $1

catch rin I. thus st ppin the f rward movement of the barrel 338110111113? before the cocking elements -reach th e,.normal .posl tion. The.

weapongcana ncw be; .charged'with'a bullet as described previously and is thenready for firing.

When the trigger of the ,rifle is actuated'. the slider 0, moves: downwardly andreleasesthe pawl 16. Forcedzbyzspring in; the'rlatchsleeve. v-9

and :the pawl .16 :now ijiimp forwards :The rear endiof-f pawl. [6 .has :a curved-edge 1.6a (Big. .6)

The carrier 8 has a ld so that pawlflli is deflected downwardl arid raj m a ee l t i w can? 9 1 a f ea d. by the forward movement ofthetwo bevelfaces 9c. The force of the piston-spring 14 now causes becomes disengaged fromFthe shoulder 9 the two loops l3to slideoff the bevel faces Ha of the catch ring I l the lock holder B is pressed downwardly, where upon the nnit can be fully removed and the breech bolt of the rifle inserted.

An air'gun unit or adaptenaccording to the invention,- as embodied in" the above-described exampleyis extremely shakeproof, i. e. secures a safejlatching of the cockedpiston against inadvertent release by shocks.- This advantage is obtained despite the fact that the strong force of the piston spring does not react upon the trigger and that very little triggering force, not more than required in a firearm, is sufficient to release the gun. Due to the fact that the cooking device is mounted laterally of the weapon and has an outwardly swinging cocking lever, the unit according to the invention has also the advantage that it can be cooked without necessity of then holding it in a position greatly different from the normal shooting position, thus obviating a marked disadvantage of the conventional airguns.

While in the above-described embodiment the airgun barrel accompanies the movement of the air piston, such a joint movement is, not absolutely necessary for realizing essential features of the invention. It will also be understood that certain features of the invention are not limited to adapter devices but may also be applied to airguns or pistols in general, without departing from the scope of the claims annexed hereto.

I claim as my invention: 1. An adapter device,

. d' h' s on pringl lcan 110w, y p d. The air compressed-in the insertable into the whereby saidcontrol-member is displaced and r lea-sed'fi-rom said' latching part when the trigger r el Tee eei e ea structurefor moving it in opposition {to said spring, latching means {or latching said structure in-thec'ocked position 'having a partlmova'bly mounted on said structure and biasedtoward unlatching of said structure, a latch'controlslider displaceable parallel to said directionand having a rearerid engaging said 'latch'part in the cocked position of said structure to then holdsaid, part in latching position, said-slider havinga front end abutting againstthe triggerfmember in'said cocked position and being thereby stopped-from forward displacement, said cylinder having -a'- part engageable with said slider rear end during forward displacement of said slider to deflect said slider rear end away from said part due to said forward displacement, and spring means biasing said slider toward forward displacement whereby said slider is displaced and released from said latching part when the trigger member is downwardly actuated away from said front end.

3. An airgun device, comprising a barrel, a cylinder, a structure movable axially of said cylinder and having a piston in said cylinder to form therewith an air pressure chamber combreech of a firearm with a downwardly movable with an air pressure chamber communicating with said barrel, a piston spring joined with said structure for moving it axially in the air compressing direction, a cooking device linked to said structure for moving it in opposition to said spring, latching means for latching said structure in the cooked position having a part movably mounted on said structure and biased toward unlatching of said structure, a latch control member displaceable parallel to said direction and having a pawl end and a stop end at its respective extremities, said pawl end being engageable with said latching part near the end of the cooking movement to place and hold said latching part in latching position relative to said structure, said stop end being engageable with the trigger member to be stopped thereby from displacement when said structure is cocked and latched, said cylinder having deflecting means engageable with said pawl end during said displacement to then deflect said pawl end away from said latching part, and spring means biasing said control member in the direction of said displacement latch control slider displaceable parallel to. said I direction and having a rearward pawl end and a forward stop, said pawl end being engageable with said latching part near the end of the cocking movement to place and hold said latching part in latching position relative to said structure, a movable trigger member abutted by said stop when said structure is cooked to then prevent forward displacement of said slider, said slider having a curved portion and said cylinder having a part engageable with said portion during forward displacement of said slider to then deflect said slider away from said latching part, and spring means biasing said slider toward forward displacement whereby said slider is displaced and released from said latching part when said trigger member is moved away from said stop.

4. In a deviceaccording to claim 3, said latching means comprising a carrier forming part of said structure and being disposed coaxially of said piston, latching loops mounted on said carrier and being outwardly deflectable therefrom to latching position, and said movable part consisting essentially of a sleeve member axially displaceable on said carrier and wedgingly engageable with said loops to force them to said latching position when moved rearwardly of said carrier, a stationary catch ring joined with said cylinder in coaxial relation to said carrier and spring member having a biasing force axially directed to move said sleeve member forwardly relative to said carrier. 7'

6. In a device according to claim 1-, said latching means comprising a carrier firmly secured to said movable structure to form part thereof, latching elements mounted on said: carrier and being defiectableradially away from-said carrier to latching position,a stationary catch ring firm- 1y joined withsaid; cylinder ,in coaxial relation to said carrier and engaged by said latch elements in the cocked posit-ion of said structure to thenlatch said structure in the cooked position. said latching part being engageable with said elements for deflecting them to said latching position when-engaged by said latch control member.

'1. Ina device according to claim 1, said cocking device being mounted laterally of the device and having a laterally reciprocable cocking handle so as to be operable in the normal shooting position of the firearm. V e

8. An adapter device according to claim 1, comprising a snap-spring catch member mounted on the device and engageable with the firearm to fasten the inserted adapter device .in the breech of the firearm I i I e JACQUES BERTS'CHIINGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

V UNITED STATES PATENTS be ,7 a 7 D te.

1,545,465 Johnston'e et a1. 5a-- July 7,1925 1,692,555 Lewis henna-nu Nov. 20, 1928 1,897,226 Anson sr Feb. 14, 1933 2,110,509 Latka 1-- Mar. a,- 1938 2,150,288 Moller Mar. 14, 1939 2,194,142 Foss .r a Mar. 19, 1940 

